


Braiding Hair

by CheshireGrins



Category: Magi (Manga)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-22
Updated: 2012-10-22
Packaged: 2017-11-16 19:46:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/543177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheshireGrins/pseuds/CheshireGrins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a well known fact that Aladdin, first Kodor, does not braid his own hair.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Braiding Hair

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a long time since i've written. Forgive me if my writing sounds a little strange or off.
> 
> 9/16/2017  
> I edited stuff.

 

It's a well known fact that Aladdin, first Kodor, does not braid his own hair. Whether it's because he's lacking in the knowledge of how to or not, everybody in the academy knows that Aladdin has never done the work himself.

Everyone has seen Aladdin in the lap of some girl, having his long hair braided. The girls are always more than happy to. They'd gossip between skips of long tails of blue, would study over his small shoulders and recite spells between them as they pinched his cheek and stroked his hair. 

"It's so soft and silky!"

"It's so pretty... I wish I had hair like Aladdin."

"Cute!"

Sometimes there's boys too, who are charmed into doing it. Aladdin rarely asks them to braid his hair, but unlike when he's smiling blissfully in the lap of some girl, he's usually sulking. But his hair must be braided, and if there aren't girls around to do it, boys might as well suffice. Although the gossip doesn't disappear. There's just something compelling about having a child in your lap willing to listen about your detention last Friday with your mortal nemesis.

* * *

One day, Aladdin comes into the mess hall with his hair still a bit wet and loose. He walks through the crowds of people, dancing and hopping around long legs and careless steps. He drags the longest of his hair with him, too. Some of the blue hair is curled around his arms, swinging between students like the affectionate tread of a very blue, very clumsy, cat. It was the disadvantage of being short, but he'd eventually grow out of it. Probably.

He plops down next to Sphintus, who was already eating and using another fork to feed Kukulcan. Kukulcan takes the strip of meat from the fork and flicks his tongue out, searching for more.

"Hey Sphintus," Aladdin greets. His robes are a little wet from his hair. He grabs a spare fork and forks some food from the blond boy's plate.

"Get your own," Sphintus says, brushing him off with his own fork as he peruses a textbook. "And why's your hair loose?"

"Mmm, the line's really full right now. I'll wait until later," Aladdin says. He chews a bit on his rightfully stolen eggs, before answering, "It's 'cause I washed it. 'N no one was free to braid it."

"Not even a guy?"

"Nuh uh. Everyone was already here. I woke up late."

"And you don't know how to do it yourself?" Sphintus asked exasperatedly. How could the boy live for 11, 12 years, and not know how to braid his own hair?

Aladdin pouts, "I've always had my friends to do it for me."

"Like 'Mor' and Alibaba?" Sphintus has, as Aladdin's room mate, more than enough times heard about Aladdin's friends. He's still not exactly sure  _who_ they are, but they're Aladdin's friends so they couldn't be that bad. But the mention of them always pulls his stomach a little, always makes it twist uncomfortably.

"Mhm. Mor wasn't as good at it 'cause she didn't have the experience but Alibaba was really good at it. Almost as good as Ugo-kun," Aladdin says the last somewhat reluctantly. Ugo was another friend, but unlike Mor and Alibaba, Aladdin almost  _never_ brought him up unless it was an accident. Talking about Ugo was like a habit the boy couldn't get rid of, Sphintus thinks, and what his hesitation implies doesn't make the knots in his stomach any better.

"Isn't Alibaba a guy?" Sphintus tries to divert the boy's attention before Aladdin decides to lose his appetite and retreat to their room. He'd rather the boy stay and eat, even if it was his own dinner, thanks.

Aladdin's attention goes back to him, the glassy look in his eyes suddenly lost and replaced by confusion. "Why does that matter?"

"Well..." Sphintus starts, but then looks at the boy again. "Nevermind. So why isn't Mor as good as Alibaba?"

Aladdin forks another portion of dinner away from his plate. He chews slowly, seeming to think of his answer carefully. Which is a rare thing for Aladdin. He seems to just lack all brain to mouth filter sometimes. "Well, Mor didn't need to learn until I asked her."

"Is her hair short?"

"Yeah, and really pretty, too. It's a bright, bright, red."

Another knot in his stomach. Lovely. "Why don't you just learn to braid it yourself?"

Aladdin looks at him strangely, "Well, it's hard. I can't reach some of the hair. And it's always been a two person job for me! It's just more fun."

"I see," Sphintus says. "How about I braid it for you?"

Sphintus can't quite say where the offer came from because quite frankly, he thinks he'll be about as good as Mor. He's never had to braid hair in his life, except maybe for that one time he braided his cousin's long, blonde hair at her request. His offer may have come from a secret need to find a way to tie himself to the boy, Sphintus will admit later. Aladdin shines so brightly, and not many can escape his influence. When Sphintus hears about Alibaba and Mor, it makes him feel so horribly... not important. Because no matter how much the other students in Magnoshuttat say that he's the one closest to Aladdin, it seems like Alibaba and Mor will always come first for the boy. He didn't want to be just another colorful character, like in the stories Aladdin would recall. He wanted to be someone. 

Sphintus can hope. Maybe if he tried hard enough, if he absorbed enough of the boy's light. He'd just be just as bright, be in the world that Aladdin sees.

"Sure."

Just like that, Aladdin turns around, his blue hair nearly flying into Sphintus' food. The boy straddles the bench, his legs swinging. When Sphintus doesn't immediately respond, he peers at his friend. "Well?"

"R-right," Sphintus stutters. He abandons his fork on the plate and lets Kukulcan down onto the table so that the snake could feed themself.

He's horrible at it. He misses a few strands, pulls the hair a little too roughly, the hair wasn't combed enough, and the braiding is clumsy and possibly the worst job he's ever seen on Aladdin's hair. He looks like he walked through a tornado.

But Aladdin still thanks him, smiles a grin big enough to split his face.

"You really shouldn't thank me, I think I made your hair worse." Sphintus hides his face, an embarrassed flush coming over his cheeks.

Aladdin laughs, "I'm sure you'll get used to it at some point." With that said, Aladdin bounds off for the dinner line. 

"... At some point?" Sphintus stares at the 1st kodor's retreating back. He then diverts his stare to the feeding Kukulcan, "Does that mean he wants me to do it again?"

**End**

 


End file.
